Sexuaw repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing deir own sexuawity. Sexuaw repression is often associated wif feewings of guiwt or shame being associated wif sexuaw impuwses.[1] What constitutes sexuaw repression is subjective and can vary greatwy between cuwtures and moraw systems. Many rewigions have been accused of fostering sexuaw repression, uh-hah-hah-hah.

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Sigmund Freud was de first to use de term widewy, and argued dat it was one of de roots of many probwems in Western society.[2] Freud bewieved dat peopwe's naturawwy strong instincts toward sexuawity were repressed by peopwe in order to meet de constraints imposed on dem by civiwized wife. However, Freud's ideas about sexuaw repression have not been widout deir critics. According to sex derapist Bernard Apfewbaum, Freud did not base his bewief in universaw innate, naturaw sexuawity on de strengf of sexuaw desire he saw in peopwe, but rader on its weakness.[3] In some periods of Indian history anaphrodisiacs were utiwised in order to wower wibidos.[4]

Many forms of Iswam have strict sexuaw codes which incwude banning homosexuawity, demanding virginity before marriage accompanied by a ban on fornication, and can reqwire modest dress-codes for men and women (during prayer).[6]

Marriage has been seen as a means of controwwing sexuawity.[19] Some forms of marriage, such as chiwd marriage, are often practiced as a means of reguwating de sexuawity of girws, by ensuring dey do not have severaw partners, dus preserving deir virginity for de future husband.[20] According to de BBC Worwd Service:[21]

In some cases, parents wiwwingwy marry off deir young girws in order to increase de famiwy income or protect de girw from de risk of unwanted sexuaw advances or even promiscuity.

Femawe genitaw mutiwation (FGM), awso known as femawe genitaw cutting or femawe circumcision, "comprises aww procedures dat invowve partiaw or totaw removaw of de externaw femawe genitawia, or oder injury to de femawe genitaw organs for non-medicaw reasons".[22] The practice is concentrated in 27 countries in Africa as weww as Iraqi Kurdistan, Yemen and Indonesia; and more dan 125 miwwion girws and women today are estimated to have been subjected to FGM.[22]

FGM does not have any heawf benefits, and has serious negative effects on heawf; incwuding compwications during chiwdbirf.[22]

FGM is often motivated by bewiefs about what is considered proper sexuaw behaviour, winking procedures to premaritaw virginity and maritaw fidewity. FGM is in many communities bewieved to reduce a woman's wibido and derefore bewieved to hewp her resist "iwwicit" sexuaw acts.

An honor kiwwing is de homicide of a member of a famiwy or sociaw group by oder members, due to de perpetrators' bewief dat de victim has brought shame or dishonor upon de famiwy or community, usuawwy for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a rewationship dat is disapproved by deir rewatives, having sex outside marriage, becoming de victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in homosexuaw rewations.[23][24][25][26][27] According to a UN Expert Group Meeting on good practices in wegiswation to address harmfuw practices against women:[28]

They [honor kiwwings] stem from de deepwy-rooted sociaw bewief dat mawe famiwy members (in some cases, moders and oder women are invowved in pwanning or carrying out honor crimes) shouwd controw de sexuawity of or protect de reputation of women in de famiwy, and dat dey may contain deir movements or kiww dem for bwemishing famiwy honor, even when rumors or fawse gossip are de reason for pubwic suspicion, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Various cuwtures attempt to repress homosexuaw sexuaw expression, uh-hah-hah-hah. As of 2014, same-sex sexuaw acts are punishabwe by prison in 70 countries, and in five oder countries and in parts of two oders, homosexuawity is punishabwe wif de deaf penawty.[29] Apart from criminaw prosecution, LGBT individuaws may awso face sociaw stigmatization and serious viowence (see viowence against LGBT peopwe).

Some researchers have hypodesized a rewationship between sexuaw repression and rape. However, dey have been unabwe to find any support for dis hypodesis - wheder de tremendous difficuwty of measuring sexuaw repression is to bwame, or wheder de deory is simpwy fawse, is unknown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[30]

Michew Foucauwt, in his The History of Sexuawity, neider refutes nor confirms what he cawws de "repressive hypodesis." Instead, he says sexuawity has become an important topic to understand and manipuwate for de purpose of nation buiwding. Through categorization of sexuawity, de idea of repression was born, uh-hah-hah-hah. Whiwe he agrees sexuawity has become much more controwwed, he eqwates it to necessity. Furdermore, it is drough psychiatric and medicaw discourse on sexuawity dat it has become repressed.

Foucauwt argues dat rewigious confession as weww as psychiatric procedure codify confession widin as a means of extracting truf. Because de mechanisms of sex were obscure, it was ewusive by nature and its mechanisms escaped observation, uh-hah-hah-hah. By integrating it into de beginnings of a scientific discourse, de nineteenf century awtered de scope of confession, uh-hah-hah-hah. Confession tended no wonger to be concerned sowewy wif what de subject wished to hide but wif what was hidden from himsewf. It had to be extracted by force, since it invowved someding dat tried to stay hidden, uh-hah-hah-hah. This rewationship of truf scientificawwy vawidated de view of de confessed which couwd assimiwate, record, and verify dis obscure truf.[32]

Reproduction-based sex was urged by Mao Zedong, but water powiticians instituted a one-chiwd powicy. In a country where adeism is popuwar, de restriction cannot be ascribed to rewigion but to nationawist motives.[33]